


my name is whatever you decide (I'm just gonna call you mine)

by komhmagnus



Series: inspired by 3b [4]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: 5+1, Cute, Domestic Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, LIKE SO LIGHT, Light Angst, M/M, Magnus really wants to make pup a thing, Pet Names, just in passing angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 09:11:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18070556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/komhmagnus/pseuds/komhmagnus
Summary: 5 times Magnus tried to make “pup” a thing and 1 time it totally was a thing





	my name is whatever you decide (I'm just gonna call you mine)

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Don't Blame Me by Taylor Swift

**1**

 

“Come on, pup. Time to rise and face the day.”

The room is far too bright, and the bed beside him far too cold. Alec sits up, squinting against the sunlight streaming in through the window.

“Pup?” he asks, raising a hand to block the sun but to no avail. He wants to bury deeper inside the covers and blot out all of the light in the known universe, but he suspects Magnus has other plans. _Why can’t those plans include cuddling?_ he thinks to himself, grumbling even in his thoughts.

“Panda?” Magnus tries again.

“No.”

“Okay,” Magnus relents, turning away from the bed but not before Alec sees his tiny pout at the rejection of his pet names. Alec almost feels bad. _Almost_. He can’t really be blamed for being opposed to nicknames when he’s barely woken up and his boyfriend isn’t in bed with him. Alec may have angelic blood in his veins, but he is only human, after all.

“Why is it so early?” Alec groans, falling back into the bed, if only for a moment.

 

**2**

 

“The thing about moments,” Alec says, “is that you’ll miss them if you’re always running after the next one.”

Magnus doesn’t answer, his brow furrowed.

“When I’m ninety,” Alec tries again, looking away under the weight of the implication that he fully intends to be by Magnus’s side until the day he dies, regardless of when. “I’m not going to remember the trendy gallery, or...or the amazing Greek food we had if we don’t slow down.” Magnus’s gaze is more open, softer but still confused. “And savor moments like these,” Alec adds softly. “And I’m staring into the eyes of the man that I love.”

Magnus’s smile is small, but it’s real, and Alec thinks maybe he understands now. “Of course,” he says. “Everything I need is right here in front of me.” Alec returns his smile, searching his boyfriend’s eyes. The shift in his demeanor is sudden and minute, but Alec still catches it. “Amazing how a twenty-something year old pup can teach an old man new tricks,” Magnus says airly, his eyes teasing and mischievous.

“Please don't,” Alec says, shaking his head. “Don't try to make ‘pup’ a thing.”

“No?” Magnus asks, stepping closer.

“No,” Alec breathes, their lips inches from each other. They meet and the kiss is slow and innocent, yet still all the intimacy Alec had been craving from his boyfriend all day despite its simplicity.

 

**3**

 

“Pup?” Clary asks with a raised brow and a smirk on her lips. It’s good to see her smile, Alec thinks, after everything. She looks exhausted, her eyes full of a dread Alec is sure won’t go away until the rune on her collarbone connecting her to Jonathan is gone. A patch of dried blood is just visible on her dark jeans, surrounding the tear where she’d stabbed her own leg.

Alec gestures vaguely with his hand, trying--and failing--not to roll his eyes. “He’s trying to make it a thing,” he says.

Her smile grows, and Alec is really, _really_ glad to see it. Magnus shifts beside him, and he doesn’t have to turn and look to know that Magnus feels the same. “It’s cute,” she says. Her voice is light and teasing, a sharp contrast to what is was moments ago while informing everyone at the Institute about her new rune, her new reality. _For now_ , Alec reminds himself. Clary might not be a Lightwood, and Alec might not use a word as strong as _friend_ for the redhead who’d turned his world on its head a few months ago, but he did care about her. Probably more than he’d ever admit, lest he ruin his grumpy and brooding persona.

“I’m a Shadowhunter,” Alec scoffs. “I don’t do ‘cute.’”

“But, pup, you did me last night,” Magnus chimes in, smiling and blinking up at him innocently, much to Clary’s delight. Her laugh echoes around the mostly empty Ops Center.

Alec knows he’s blushing, feels the heat pooling in his cheeks and his neck. He wonders if the blue light cast off by the monitors are blending with the red to make him a shade of purple, like the girl who turned into a blueberry in that children’s movie Magnus had made him watch a few weeks before. Alec didn’t think he’d like to be a blueberry very much, but the happy and almost carefree looks on both Clary and Magnus’s faces are enough that he decides there are far worse fates.

 

**4**

 

Alec enters the loft quietly, the relief of finally being home not quite enough to shed the weight of the day from his shoulders. It doesn’t help, of course, that he’s 99% sure someone is drilling into his skull, if the gnawing pain behind his forehead is anything to go by.

Magnus hears him anyways, or maybe he just felt him slip into the wards. “Alexander?” he calls, his voice carrying from the apothecary.

Alec hums in response, too tired to speak. He heads straight for their bedroom, stripping off his jeans and jacket. He lets himself fall face first into the bed, burying his face into the pillow. It feels good to be off his feet, and he’s more than content to fall asleep right then and there.

The sound of footsteps coming down the hall have other plans, it seems. “Alexander?” Magnus asks softly as Alec hears him enter the room. He feels the bed dip beside him, but he still can’t bring himself to turn and open his eyes. He just wants to sleep for a trillion years and forget that today ever existed.

“What’s wrong, pup?” Magnus says, and Alec would never admit this to his boyfriend, but he couldn’t stop his lips from upturning just slightly at the pet name. For the first time all day, he felt warm, even if the construction crew inside his head was still pounding away at his skull.

Alec turns, but not before schooling his expression into a scowl. “Not a pup,” he mumbles, squinting up at Magnus against the afternoon light.

Magnus sighs, threading his fingers through Alec’s hair. It doesn’t ease the headache, but _by the angel_ does it feel good. “What’s wrong, _darling_?” Magnus tries again, his voice concerned underneath the teasing lilt.

“Bad, terrible, long, miserable day,” Alec grumbles, his squint morphing into a glare at Magnus’s low chuckle. “My head hurts, I’m exhausted, the Clave sucks, and my parabatai is _so annoying_.”

“Your head hurts?” Magnus asks, ignoring the rest. “How badly?”

“You know those things they use in TV to tear up roads and stuff?” Alec asks.

He raises an eyebrow. “You mean a jackhammer?”

Alec nods, the side of his face smooshed against the pillow. “That’s in my head.”

Magnus frowns, his fingers still carding through Alec’s hair. The motion already felt heavenly to Alec, but now a warmth emanates from his fingers and spreads through Alec’s head, easing the pain. Alec sighs in relief, scooting closer to press a kiss to Magnus’s side.

“Thank you,” he murmurs, suddenly on the edge of sleep once again.

“Of course, pup,” Magnus answers.

Alec closes his eyes, shaking his head slightly. “Not a pup,” he argues, but he’s already fast asleep when Magnus laughs and presses a kiss to his forehead.

 

**5**

 

“Magnus, what is all this?” Alec asks, stopping short just inside the loft. He almost doesn’t recognize it for all of the pink and red decorations everywhere. _It looks like Cupid threw up_ , he thinks. _Or exploded_.

“It’s our first Valentine’s day together, darling. I wanted to celebrate properly,” Magnus says proudly. His arms are behind his back, hiding something, but that’s not why Alec’s staring at them. Magnus is wearing a shirt of deep burgundy, and the fabric clings to his shoulders and biceps in a way that Alec is sure is going to kill him.

“You know,” Alec says, his mouth suddenly _very_ dry. “I don’t need heart decorations everywhere to celebrate with you.” He can’t stop his gaze from drifting up and down his boyfriend’s body appreciatively. He’s not sure he even wants to.

Magnus smirks, clearly pleased with the reaction he’s elicited. “I know, darling,” he drawls, “but, humor me?” His eyes are wide and how could Alec ever deny this man anything?

Alec nods, acquiescing to whatever Magnus has planned for the evening. His agreement is immediately worth it, he knows, watching Magnus’s eyes brighten and his smile grow.

“Excellent,” Magnus purs.

 _By the angel_ , Alec thinks. _I’m fucked_.

“I have something for you,” Magnus says, stepping closer. He moves his arms, holding up a stuffed animal for Alec to see. Alec frowns, eyebrow raised in confusion. “A pup for my pup,” Magnus explains.

“That is incredibly sweet,” Alec whispers, taking a small step so their lips were inches apart. “But I thought we agreed not to make ‘pup’ a thing.”

“ _You_ agreed, darling. I’ve made no such commitment,” Magnus winks. Alec’s groan is lost to the press of Magnus’s lips against his.

 

**+1**

 

“Don’t go,” Alec mumbles, eyes still closed.

He doesn’t even know what time it is. All he knows is that it is his _day off_ and he fully intends to spend the day in bed doing absolutely nothing but curling up with his boyfriend, even though the shift of the mattress as Magnus moves to pull himself out of bed means his boyfriend clearly has other plans.

That simply won’t do.

He reaches out a hand, wrapping his arm around Magnus’s torso to hold him in place. Magnus laughs in surprise, the sound breathy in the morning and music to Alec’s ears. He scoots himself closer, lying his head half on Magnus’s should and half on his chest.

“I have a client this morning, Alexander,” Magnus whispers, but he doesn’t try to extricate himself from Alec’s hold on him.

“So cancel,” Alec murmurs. He opens his eyes, glancing up to meet Magnus’s eyes. “It’s my day off, and I just want to spend it relaxing with you.”

Magnus’s chuckle vibrates through him like the best kind of earthquake, each tremble sending a new wave of warmth through Alec. “You can spend the rest of the day relaxing with me _after_ I meet with my client.”

“Hm mm,” Alec hums, shaking his head. “I want to spend the _entire_ day with you.”

“It would take an hour at most, darling,” Magnus whispers, but he slips an arm around Alec’s waist.

 _I’ve almost got him_ , he thinks.

“What would it take to convince you not to go?” Alec asks.

“Hmmm…” Magnus hums, running his fingers through his goatee in ponderance. Alec rolls his eyes at the theatrics, but he can’t help but smile. “Oh, I know,” he says after a moment, his voice pleased. “Let ‘pup’ be a thing.”

Alec exhales, the sound coming out in a surprised laugh. “I really should’ve seen that coming,” he says.

“Do we have a deal, Alexander?” Magnus asks, his eyes challenging as they are affectionate.

“Fine,” Alec grumbles, but in truth he doesn’t mind at all. He’d grown used to Magnus’s tendency to call him by various terms of endearment, not that he would ever admit this to his boyfriend. “But no using it around our friends,” he adds, not wanting to repeat the teasing looks he’d gotten from Izzy and Jace the first time they’d overheard Magnus call him ‘darling.’

“On my honor,” Magnus says in mock seriousness. Alec watches as he picks up his phone from the nightstand and send a message to his client. “There,” he says as he powers the phone off. “I’m all yours, pup.”

“Good,” Alec whispers, pressing a kiss to Magnus’s chest.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are appreciated 💖  
> Find me on Tumblr and Twitter @banesapothecary!


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